EA Articles / Reference

"When ModernAnalyst asked me to propose an article for their issue on Enterprise Architecture, I thought about the question framework developed by John Zachman, that provides the basic building blocks of that practice. The primary function of a Business Analyst is to ask questions that uncover requirements then to document those requirements so they may be developed into a useful, useable system. It seemed to me that questions are a common thread for the Enterprise Architect, Data Architect, and Business Analyst alike. As the conversation progressed, I realized that I could reach out to John Zachman and pose a few questions to him about Enterprise Architecture. This article will be split between a brief interview, Q&A with John Zachman, and a more detailed overview, Data Architecture..."

Entire article on ModernAnaylst.com...

"LORETTA: We have a great opportunity here to inform Business Analysts about the framework. I am pointing them to your website for definition and detail; I’m hoping that you can provide some background that will help them understand your perspective and the evolution of Enterprise Architecture as a practice.
JOHN: We have been adding a lot of substantive material about Enterprise Architecture and the Zachman Framework..."

"LORETTA: Now could you explain why you chose “architecture” as the analogy or metaphor for IT Systems Development?
JOHN: I actually came from the Strategy community and by the late ’60’s we had figured out methodologically how to define business strategy. The problem was..."

"LORETTA: Can you please explain a bit about the difference between your framework and a methodology?
JOHN: My Framework is an ONTOLOGY. It is a theory of the existence of a structured set of elemental components of a complex object that require description and are relevant for creating, operating, maintaining and changing the object...."

"LORETTA: Do you think having an accurate Enterprise Architecture will help Business Analysts do their job more easily?
JOHN: Actually, I would say that an accurate Enterprise Architecture would ENABLE Business Analysts to do their job..."

"LORETTA: Can Business Analysts play role in the creation or maintenance of an Enterprise Architecture Framework?
JOHN: I would say that Business Analysts play a KEY role in populating some of the descriptive representations that constitute Enterprise Architecture..."

"LORETTA: Which Framework classifications (aka Cells) would be most relevant for the Business analysts and why?
JOHN: Someone has to transcribe what the Executive Leaders of the Enterprise have in mind as to the boundaries of the Enterprise relative to the Inventories they control, the Processes they perform..."

"LORETTA: How can the Business Analysts use the primitive interrogatives (what, how, where, who, when and why) when performing enterprise analysis?
JOHN: To have a complete description of the Enterprise, all of the primitive interrogatives will have to be answered at some point in time... I think the Business Analyst plays a key role..."

"Using the Zachman Framework™, let’s take a deeper dive on the What, or data column. Each of the rows in the framework expresses a level of abstraction, in Zachman’s own words, “Identification, Definition, Representation, Specification, Configuration, and Instantiation..."

Entire article on ModernAnaylst.com...

Author: "Loretta Mahon Smith, CCP, CBIP, CDMP, is Vice President for the Data Management Association - National Capital Region, a member of the Board of Directors for DAMA International, and an ICCP Certification Counsel Member. She is a 25 year career Data Architect in the financial services industry."